Side spin inducing golf club

ABSTRACT

A ramped surface is added to the ball striking surface of the planar club face of the head of a golf club. The ramp diverges from the central portion of the club face to the heel or toe of the club so as to produce a side spin on a golf ball struck by the club head. Where the ramp diverges from the club face towards the toe of the club the spin will be counterclockwise. Where the ramp diverges from the club face towards the heel of the club the spin will be clockwise.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefits of provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/623,820, filed Nov. 1, 2004, titled Side Spin Inducing GolfClub Head

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to golf club heads. More specifically, thisinvention relates to a golf club head having a portion of the club faceout of plane from the plane of another portion of the club face,configured to consistently induce a side spin in one direction to a ballstruck on a grooved portion of the club face.

Golf clubs have typically been designed so that when a ball is struck bythe club face on the grooved portion of the club face by a golfer usinga “grooved” swing, the club face will not introduce a side spin on thegolf ball.

A skilled golfer can intentionally introduce a side spin to a golf ballby adjusting his stance, or by adjusting his grip on the club, or bychanging his swing, or a combination of the above. Golfers strive for aconsistent “grooved swing.” Modifying the swing, grip, or stance toachieve a hook or slice by introducing side spin on the ball during clubcontact with the ball is harmful to maintaining a consistent “grooved”swing.

It is natural, when swinging a club or bat to pivot the shoulders andhips during the swing. A right handed golfer when using a hip andshoulder pivot will typically introduce a clockwise side spin to theball as it is struck. The result is a flight path that curves to theright which is called a slice. Further, many “Sunday golfers” have a“flat swing” or a “baseball swing” that induces excessive sidespin onthe ball producing an out of control slice. A cure for the out ofcontrol slice would be, for the Sunday golfer, what a cure for thecommon cold would be for a doctor.

The holy grail of Sunday golfers is to “get more distance and get rid ofa slice”.

The prior art is replete with golf clubs that claim to improve theoutcome of striking a golf ball with the club of their particularconstruction.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,690 to Salmon teaches a golf club head having arecess in the central portion of the club face and a ridge is along thetop edge of the club. Both geometries are disclosed to increase therotation of the golf ball around a horizontal axis and result in ahigher flight of the ball and greater amount of back spin on the ballwhen landing than would be produced by a flat club face of the sameloft.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,210 to Rozmus teaches a club face that has wings oneach side of the center of the club face. The wings and club face areprovided with a Teflon-coated or otherwise low friction surface to avoidputting any spin on a ball struck with the club.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,518 to Solheim teaches the use of a convex club faceto counter the spin on a ball that is introduced by hitting the ball offthe center of the club face.

The present invention relates to improvements to the apparatus describedabove, and to solutions to some of the problems raised or not solvedthereby.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a sidespin inducing golf club head. The club headincludes a golf club body extending laterally from a hosel, and has asole, a top surface, a heel, a toe, and a planar club face. The clubface intersects the sole at an acute angle and has a top edge, a soleedge, a toe end and a heel end. A grooved area is formed between theheel end and the toe end. A ramp is formed on the club face andintersects the grooved area of the club face along a line that islateral to the line of intersection between the club face and the sole.The ramp extends to one of the ends of the club face, and diverges fromthe plane of the club face as the ramp approaches an end of the clubface. In contradistinction to the prior art, the effect of thisarrangement of the ramp and club face is to introduce a side spin in onedirection to a golf ball struck anywhere on the grooved area of the rampand club face.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a golf club headthat will impart a consistent side spin on a golf ball when the golfball is struck on the grooved portion of the club face by a golfer usinga golf swing that would not introduce a side spin on a golf ball whenusing a conventional club head.

Another object of this invention to provide modification of aconventional golf club head that will produce more distance from theclub while getting rid of or greatly reducing the potential for the clubto hit a slice.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparenthereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a club head constructed according to apreferred embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the club shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the club shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of the club head shown in FIG. 3, takengenerally along line 4-4 thereof.

FIG. 5 is cross sectional view of the club head shown in FIG. 3, takengenerally along line 5-5 thereof.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 4, of a club headsimilar to that shown in FIG. 3, but constructed according to adifferent embodiment of the invention, wherein the divergence is in theopposite direction from that shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a horizontal cross section of a club head of this inventionwherein the ramped surface is planar.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal cross section of a club head of this inventionwherein the ramped surface is that same thickness as the thickness ofthe club head at the club face.

FIG. 9 is a horizontal section of a club head of this invention whereinthe ramp is detachably secured to a club head by means of releasablefasteners.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal section of a club head of this invention whereina blank ramp is formed integral with the club head.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a club head of this invention wherein aramped surface is permanently secured to the club head.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a club head of this invention having acustom designed ramped surface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the drawing figures, like numbers refer to like objects, and theproportions of some components have been modified to facilitateillustration.

The term “developable curved surface” shall be understood to mean “asurface generated by a straight line moving along a curve or directrixwhile the straight line maintains an orientation parallel to itsoriginal orientation.”

The club head provided by this invention provides new capabilities togolfers. For the skilled golfer with a “grooved” swing, the club headpermits him to put side spin on a golf ball without changing his stance,grip, or swing. For the golfer whose swing ordinarily produces side spinon a golf ball, the club head provided by this invention provides thecapability of eliminating the side spin and/or putting a side spin inthe opposite direction on the golf ball. For the golfer who wants to uselonger clubs and a flat or “baseball” swing, the club head of thisinvention can eliminate and/or reverse the side spin that is attendantwith such a swing style.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-5, a preferred embodiment of this invention isshown. A club head 1 has a club body 2 extending laterally from a hosel3. The club head 1 has a bottom surface or sole 4, a top surface 5, anedge, referred to herein as a heel 6, which is proximal to the hosel 3,an edge, referred to herein as a toe 7, distal from the hosel, and aplanar club face 8 that intersects sole 4 at an acute angle 9. Planarface 8 has a top edge 10 where the face intersects the top surface 5, asole edge 11 where the face intersects the sole 4, a heel edge 13 wherethe face intersects the heel 6, and a toe edge 12 where the faceintersects the toe 7. Part of the planar face 8 is a grooved area 14between the heel edge 13 and the toe edge 12. It should be noted thatthe ball striking area of a club face is referred to as the “grooves” orthe “grooved area” whether there are grooves present or not, just as theloft angle of the face of the club head is referenced to the plane ofthe sole even if the sole is a curved surface and that a line on theclub face that is normal to the intersection between the club face andthe sole is at the loft angle of the club relative to the plane of thesole.

According to the invention, a ramp 15 is formed on the planar club face8 of club head 1. Ramp 15 intersects the grooved area 14 of club face 8along a line 16 that is lateral to the intersection between club face 8and sole 4. Ramp 15 extends to the toe edge 12 of face 8 and rampsurface 26 diverges from the plane of club face 8 as ramp 15 approachestoe edge 12.

The grooved area 14 of ramp 15 and club face 8 will introduce a sidespin in counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the top) to a ballstruck by the grooved area of club head 1.

In fact, any ramp that diverges from the club face towards the toe willimpart a counterclockwise spin on a golf ball struck on the grooved areaof the club. As shown in FIG. 6, in alternative embodiment of theinvention, a ramp 20 on club head 21 diverges from planar club face 23in the direction of heel 22. The ramp surface of ramp 20 is in the formof a convex curve. A ball struck in the ball striking area of the ramp20 and club face 23 of club head 21 will develop a side spin in theclockwise direction when viewed from the top.

In FIG. 7, another alternative embodiment of the invention is shown,wherein club a head 29 has a planar club face 28. Club head 29 has aplanar ramp surface 25 formed thereon. Ramp surface 25 diverges fromclub face 28 as ramp 25 approaches the toe 27 of club head 29.

Another alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 8, where a ramp 30 of aclub head 31 is planar and is of the same thickness as club head 31 is,at planar club face 33. Ramp 30 diverges from planar club face 33 in thedirection of toe 32.

In the additional alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a ramp 35 isdetachably secured to a planar club face 38 of a club head 36 by meansof releasable fasteners 39.

The above disclosures are enabling and would permit one of ordinaryskill in the art to make and use the club head of this invention withoutundue experimentation. To fulfill his obligation to disclose the bestmode of practicing the invention, and not to limit the scope of theclaims, the applicant is disclosing the following structures andlimitations as the best mode of practicing the invention.

The club head of this invention is made of the same materials as thoseof which conventional club heads are made. The methods for forming theramp and the ramp surface on the club head of this invention are nearlyall the same methods as the methods used for forming the club headsthemselves. The exception is that blank club head 51 of FIG. 10 is notpresent in prior art club heads because the side spin inducing club headof this invention is not present in the prior art.

The club head of this invention can be readily formed as a single pieceby molding, machining or forging and the like. FIGS. 1-5 teach a singlepiece club head.

The club head of this invention can be formed by permanently attaching aramp to the face of a conventional club head by adhesive bonding,welding or the like. FIG. 11 teaches a ramp 44 which is permanentlyattached to club head 46.

The club head of this invention can be formed by detachably securing aramp to the club face of a conventional club head by the use ofreleasable fasteners such as threaded fasteners, pins, adhesives, andthe like. FIG. 9 teaches a ramp detachably secured to a club face bymeans of releasable threaded fasteners.

To assist a golfer in aligning the club face with the intended line offlight, an index 45 can be provided on the top surface of the club as isshown on top surface 5 of club body 2 of FIG. 2 and top surface 47 ofclub head 46 of FIG. 11.

For golfers whose swings produce large hooks or slices, a correctiveclub head of this invention can be custom made to correct and evenreverse the spin that the golfer is putting on the ball. The correctiveclub heads will not correct the golfer's swing, but they will improvethe results obtained much as corrective eye glasses do not improve thepatient's eyes but they do improve his vision.

EXAMPLE 1

A client to be fitted with custom club heads is given a club fitted witha club head 36 similar to that of FIG. 9 with which he hits a number ofballs, permitting his problem to be diagnosed, and the degree of theproblem measured from the results obtained. A corrective ramp similar toramp 35 of FIG. 9 is decided upon, based upon the degree of the problem,and then attached to club head 36 to solve the client's problem. In apreferred embodiment of the invention, the ramp surface 50 is adevelopable curved surface in that it is generated by a straight line 54that moves along the prescribed curve 55 while maintaining anorientation parallel to the line of intersection 56 of blank ramp 52with planar club face 53, thereby giving ramp surface 50 the same loftangle as the loft angle of planar club face 53.

EXAMPLE 2

A client to be fitted with custom club heads is given a club fitted witha club head 36 similar to that of FIG. 9 with which he hits a number ofballs, permitting his problem to be diagnosed, and the degree of theproblem measured from the results obtained. A corrective ramp similar toramp 35 of FIG. 9 is then attached to club head 36 and additional ballsare struck by the client. A series of tests may be conducted involvingramps with various degrees of correction, after which a prescription fora ramp surface such as ramp surface 50 of FIG. 12 is created. A blankclub head such as club head 51 of FIGS. 10 and 12 having a blank ramp 52formed on planar club face 53 is clamped in a tool and the correctiveramp surface 50 is machined or otherwise formed into blank ramp 52. In apreferred embodiment of the invention the ramp surface 50 is adevelopable curved surface in that it is generated by a straight line 54that moves along the prescribed curve 55 while maintaining anorientation parallel to the line of intersection 56 of blank ramp 52with planar club face 53 thereby giving ramp surface 50 the same loftangle as the loft angle of planar club face 53.

EXAMPLE 3

A client to be fitted with custom club heads is given a club fitted witha club head 29 similar to that of FIG. 7 with which he hits a number ofballs, permitting his problem to be diagnosed, and the degree of theproblem measured from the results obtained. A corrective ramp similar toramp 25 of FIG. 7 is decided upon, based upon the degree of the problem,and the club head 29 is formed to solve the client's problem.

EXAMPLE 4

A client to be fitted with custom club heads is given a club fitted witha club head 31 similar to that of FIG. 8 with which he hits a number ofballs, permitting his problem to be diagnosed, and the degree of theproblem measured from the results obtained. A corrective ramp similar toramp 30 of FIG. 8 is decided upon, based upon the degree of the problem,and the club head 31 is formed to solve the client's problem.

The physics of ramp design is beyond the scope of this disclosure.However, the principles are readily understood. When a golf ball isstruck below center by a club face, it leaves the club face revolvingaround a horizontal axis. If a golf ball were to be struck directly tothe side of center, the golf ball would leave the club face revolvingabout a vertical axis. The ramp of this invention is designed to strikea golf ball below and to one side of center of a golf ball so that thegolf ball will leave the face of the club revolving about an axis thatis the result of the combined spins provided by the loft of the club andthe angle of the ramp. When the swing of a right handed golfer causesthe ball to be struck below and to the left of center, the result is aslice. In these circumstances, the ramp correction is then designed sothat the same swing will cause the ramp to strike the ball below centeror below center and to the right of center, resulting in a straight shotor a controlled hook.

The applicant has provided enabling disclosures of his invention and thebest mode of practicing the invention. He has provided severalembodiments of the invention and variants thereof. However to disclose,illustrate and claim all the combinations of embodiments and theirvariants would greatly multiply the drawings and cause this descriptionand the claims to become prolix. Therefore, it should be understood thatthe scope of this invention should not be limited to the embodimentsdisclosed and that the scope of this invention should only by limited bythe scope of the appended claims and all equivalents thereto that wouldbe made apparent thereby to one skilled in the art.

1. A sidespin inducing golf club head comprising: a golf club bodyextending laterally from a hosel, and having a sole, a top surface, aheel, a toe, and a planar club face that intersects the sole at an acuteangle, the planar club face having a top edge, a sole edge, a toe endand a heel end and a grooved area between the heel end and the toe end;and a ramp formed on the planar face of the club, which ramp intersectsthe grooved area of the club face along a line lateral to theintersection between the club face and the sole of the club, the ramphaving a ramp surface that extends substantially to one of the ends ofthe club face and diverges from the plane of the club face as the rampapproaches the end of the club face, such that the ramp will introduce aside spin in one direction to a golf ball struck on the grooved area ofthe ramp and club face.
 2. The club head of claim 1 wherein the rampdiverges from the club face in the direction of the toe of the clubhead.
 3. The club head of claim 1 wherein the ramp diverges from theclub face in the direction of the heel of the club head.
 4. The clubhead of claim 1 wherein the ramp surface is a planar surface.
 5. Theclub head of claim 1 wherein the ramp surface a curved surface
 6. Theclub head of claim 1 wherein the club head and ramp are formed as asingle piece of material.
 7. The club head of claim 1 wherein the rampis permanently attached to the club head.
 8. The club head of claim 1wherein the ramp is detachably secured to the club face by means of atleast one releasable fastener.
 9. A sidespin inducing golf club headcomprising: a golf club body extending laterally from a hosel, andhaving a sole, a top surface, a heel, a toe, and a planar club face thatintersects the sole at an acute angle, the planar club face having a topedge, a sole edge, a toe end and a heel end, and a grooved area betweenthe heel end and the toe end; and a ramp formed on the planar face ofthe club, which ramp intersects the grooved area of the club face alonga line substantially normal to the intersection between the club faceand the sole of the club, the ramp having a ramp surface that has ashape that is a developable curved surface, so that the ramp surface hasa loft angle that is the same as that of the planar club face, the rampextending substantially to one of the ends of the club face anddiverging from the plane of the club face as the ramp approaches the endof the club face, such that the ramp introduces a side spin in onedirection to a golf ball struck on the grooved area of the ramp and clubface.
 10. The club head of claim 9 wherein the top surface of the clubhead is provided with an index line that will generally align the planarclub face with a line to an intended target when the index line isaligned with the line to the intended target.
 11. The club head of claim9 wherein the ramp diverges from the club face in the direction of thetoe of the club head.
 12. The club head of claim 9 wherein the rampdiverges from the club face in the direction of the heel of the clubhead.
 13. The club head of claim 9 wherein the club head and ramp areformed as a single piece of material.
 14. The club head of claim 9wherein the ramp is permanently attached to the club head.
 15. The clubhead of claim 9 wherein the ramp is detachably secured to the club faceby means of at least one releasable fastener.
 16. A method for customfitting the club head of claim 1 to a golfer who has a swing thatproduces an out-of-control hook or slice, comprising the steps of:having the golfer hit balls with a test club having a planar club faceand not having a corrective ramp, determining the degree and causes ofthe hook or slice, and creating a formula for forming a ramp having thedesired correction for the golfer's swing.
 17. A method as recited inclaim 16 further comprising the following steps between the determiningstep and the writing step: attaching to the test club a corrective ramphaving a known degree of correction, having the golfer hit balls withthe test club with the corrective ramp attached, noting the results ofthe correction, repeating the three preceding steps with correctiveramps having differing degrees of correction until the out-of-controlhook or slice is sufficiently corrected
 18. A method as recited in claim16 wherein the ramp is formed by a machining process.
 19. A method asrecited in claim 16 wherein the ramp is formed by a casting process. 20.A method as recited in claim 16 wherein the ramp is formed by a forgingprocess.